SEOUL, July 17 (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank said on Monday there was a need to manage financial stability in addition to price risks as the country's high household debts have started to climb.
"In terms of monetary policy, it should consider financial stability more actively to prevent excessive leveraging or risky asset investments when monetary policy is loose," the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a report.
"There is a need to discuss introducing a 'prudential monetary policy' with higher consideration on financial stability, in addition to price stability," the central bank said.
The central bank said in the report there was limited financial stability risk from household debt, given the low loan-to-value ratio and the high percentage of high-income earners, but it flagged negative long-term implications on growth and inequality.
The BOK has kept monetary policy unchanged since its last interest rate hike in January and its tightening campaign, which began in August 2021, is widely expected to be over.
Persons:
BOK, Jihoon Lee, Jacqueline Wong
Organizations:
Bank of Korea, prudential, Bank for International Settlements, Thomson
Locations:
SEOUL, Switzerland, Australia